Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Monday that his party faces a “real challenge” in holding on to its majority in the House.

In an interview with Fox News that is scheduled to air Tuesday, Boehner predicted the GOP will keep control of the House, but sounded less certain than many of his Republican colleagues — and a number of nonpartisan prognosticators.

“I believe that we will, but we’ve got a real challenge,” he said when asked if Republicans will maintain control of the lower chamber.

The Ohio lawmaker put the odds at 2-to-1 that the GOP will be running the House in 2013.

Boehner is worried that Republican donors will take the House for granted, and pour their money into the battle for the White House and the Senate.

Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to grab the gavel from Boehner, and they are playing defense in various districts in red states. And President Obama’s mediocre approval ratings have some Democrats worried.